The adle file can also contain plug-ins, which are an extension to Gradle which typically add some preconfigured tasks.

The tasks of a project are defined in a adle file, which is located in the root folder of the project, and which is based on a Domain-Specific Language (DSL): in here you can use a combination of declarative and imperative statements, or write Groovy or Kotlin code, whenever you need it. A task represents a piece of work which a build performs, for example compiling the source code.

Projects can be something which should be built or something that should be done. Furthermore, Gradle introduces a Groovy-based D omain-Specific Language (DSL) instead of an XML form, which instead is used by Maven.Ī Gradle build consists of one or more projects. Gradle uses Maven to retrieve these dependencies, reusing the artifacts of existing build systems. It comes with pre-defined targets for performing certain well-defined tasks such as compilation of code and its packaging. Maven is also a build automation tool, used primarily for Java projects, which describes the dependencies of the project on other external modules and components, its build order, directories, and required plug-ins. Gradle is an open-source build automation system that supports Maven and Ivy repositories for declaring the configuration of a project. Some basic notions about Gradle and Maven This is an attempt to explain what Gradle is and what it can do for your Java projects written with IntelliJ. When I started coding in Java and using IntelliJ I was told that when starting a new project I had to choose the Gradle build tool, as opposed to directly starting a Java new project, when prompted by IntelliJ on the left-hand side of the New Project window.Īs a disciplined apprentice in the process of learning, this is what I did each time I started a new project in Java, but I’ve never really quite understood what a project written using Gradle really meant (I could only ‘imagine’ it, but have never looked into it in depth to understand it properly.)

Gradle build system